Judge Approves Settlements to End RICO Suit Over Inflated Drug Prices
Posted by Kristyn Fields on 03/11/2022
On February 22, 2022, a federal judge adopted a special master's report approving two settlements totaling over $23 million to end a proposed class action alleging that drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and its executives violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act with a scheme in which Valeant secretly ...
Will Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Be A Friend or Foe to Employee Rights?
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 03/10/2022
When President Joe Biden recently announced his nomination of Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, he made history: Jackson, who currently serves on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, would be the first Black, female Justice in the Supreme Court's history. If confirmed, Jackson will replace the recently-retired Justice Stephen ...
SEC investigates Tesla following Musk’s problematic Tweets
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 03/09/2022
After Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk proposed selling 10% of his Tesla equity in a poll on Twitter, and causing the company's share price to plummet, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed the company, beginning an investigation. The investigation was triggered because that tweet may have violated a 2018 settlement agreement Tesla ...
THE CROWN ACT
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 03/08/2022
A recent study by Dove revealed that 80% of Black women are more likely to change their natural hair to meet expectations at work and are 150% more likely to have reported being sent home or know of a Black woman sent home from work because of her hair. Bill H.R. 2116, also known as the CROWN Act, recently proposed in the House of Representatives, ...
Delaware Amends General Corporation Law Expressly Permitting Captive Insurers To Provide D&O Coverage
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 03/07/2022
On February 7, 2022, Delaware Governor John Carney signed Senate Bill 203 amending Section 145(g) of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"). The amendments permit Delaware corporations to obtain directors' and officers' ("D&O") liability insurance from a captive insurance company. In brief, a captive insurance company is an insurer ...
Construction Worker’s Damages Award Significantly Reduced on Appeal
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 03/04/2022
Last month, in Fortune v New York City Hous. Auth. (2022 NY Slip Op 00169), the Second Department heard an appeal to reduce damages awarded to a construction worker after a co-worker fell on him on a job in Brooklyn in 2016. The defendants, which included the New York City Housing Authority, argued that previously decided cases involving similar ...
Part-Time Rapper And Husband Charged With Conspiring To Launder Billions In Stolen Bitcoin
Posted by Katherine M. Lenahan on 03/02/2022
Earlier this month, federal agents seized over $3.6 billion of stolen Bitcoin and arrested Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan for conspiring to launder the cryptocurrency stolen in 2016 from Bitfinex, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange. It is the largest financial seizure in the U.S. Department of Justice's history. According to the ...
SEC Focuses on Cybersecurity for Public Companies, Proposes Rules to Enhance Cybersecurity for Advisers and Funds
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 03/01/2022
The effort to keep up in the cybersecurity race seems to be a constant challenge for everyone these days. In a speech this past January to the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Annual Securities Regulation Institute, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler focused on the importance of cybersecurity, including the prevalence ...
U.S. Soccer and the Women’s National Team Reach $24 Million Settlement
Posted by Camilo Burr on 02/28/2022
On February 22, 2022, the U.S. Soccer Federation and players on the women's national team reached a $24 million settlement, ending a six-year battle over equal pay and pay discrimination in the sport. U.S. Soccer has agreed to pay $22 million to the players as back pay and $2 million to "benefit U.S. national women's team players in their ...
Class Action Trend: Sunscreen Manufacturers Continue To Be Pounded Over Reef Safety Claims
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/25/2022
Since September 2021, at least 10 class actions have been brought against various sunscreens manufacturers, all challenging claims made on the front label about the safety of the sunscreens to coral reefs. Some of the brands challenged include popular household brands, such as Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Kroger, and Target's Up & Up. All ...
Changes To Baby Food Loom On the Horizon: Perrigo Agrees To Reduce Lead In Infant Formula Products
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/24/2022
On February 4, 2021, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform's Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy issued its "Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury" report, On February 4, 2021, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and ...
Immigrant Detainees Win Retrial In $1-A-Day Wage Case
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/16/2022
In a big win for immigrant detainees, a federal jury found that private prison GEO Group ("GEO") broke Washington employment law by paying immigrant detainees only a dollar-a-day for labor performed at an ICE detention center in Washington. The work was performed as part of GEO's work program, which paid detainees a dollar-a-day to clean floors, ...
Fake Covid Test Scams: Four Tell-Tale Signs To Watch Out For
Posted by Timothy J. Peter on 02/14/2022
The FTC recently issued a warning that they have seen an uptick in the online sale of fake at-home Covid testing kits. To avoid falling prey to these scam artists, consider taking the following steps: 1) Check to make sure that the test you are purchasing is authorized by the FDA. A list of approved Antigen tests can be found here and a list ...
New York City to Require Salary Transparency in Job Postings
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/11/2022
On January 15, 2022, the New York City Council enacted an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law—already one of, if not the, most expansive anti-discrimination statutes nationwide—which will require employers to list salary information in job postings. The new law is part of an effort to address pay inequity through transparency. ...
New Webinars to aid workers with COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/10/2022
New York State is offering online educational opportunities to help workers who believe they contracted COVID-19 due to exposure at work. These educational webinars are available through the New York Workers' Compensation Board and will provide information on filing a claim, loss of earnings, and medical benefits. These webinars are free and ...
SEC Revisits Pay-Versus-Performance
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/09/2022
On January 27, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reopened the public comment period regarding "pay-versus-performance." The rules, originally proposed in 2015, would require companies to disclose information relating to the relationship between executive compensation paid and the company's financial performance. The ...
EMPLOYEES ARE ENTITLED TO EXPRESS BREAST MILK AT WORK
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/08/2022
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, more commonly known as Labcorp, must implement changes across more than 2,000 locations to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) lactation requirements. These changes were prompted by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division's investigation and findings that Labcorp did not secure ...
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Considers the Energy Impact of Blockchains
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/07/2022
On January 20, 2022, The House Committee on Energy and Commerce discussed the long-term effects of the proof-of-work, energy-intensive method for verifying transactions used by blockchains such as bitcoin. During the hearing it was discussed how some cryptocurrency mining facilities have been working to incorporate renewable energy sources ...
NYC Passes Sweeping Reforms to City Building Codes
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 02/04/2022
In late 2021, the New York City Council passed legislation implementing thousands of updates to the city's building code. The building code is an extensive set of rules and regulations that protect construction workers and regular New Yorkers, both while a building is being constructed and after it is finished. In the construction phase, updates ...
California Supreme Court Gives Preference to Employee-Friendly State Law Framework Rather Than Burden-Shifting Test Under Federal Law
Posted by Camilo Burr on 02/03/2022
On January 27, 2022, the California Supreme Court, the state's highest court, penned a decision backing the use of state law when evaluating whistleblower retaliation claims brought under the state's labor code as opposed to the burden-shifting test commonly used in federal discrimination cases. Under Section 1102.6 of the California Labor ...